Despite the commonly talked about theory circulating the U.S that 50 percent of married couples get divorced now a days, the divorce rate has actually gone down 2 percent since the year 2000. So why does it feel like divorce has a more prominent presence than ever before?
Perhaps it’s because my own parents recently joined that supposed 50 percent or maybe it’s just that end of the season surge of summer love being forced apart by distance, school, and work, but this summer has felt as though I’ve seen separations and breakups everywhere I turn.
When I say everywhere I turn, I mean everywhere: Friends, family members, coworkers; it appears that everyone I know has recently been experiencing the ending of relationships in one way or another, whether it be their own or someone close to them. Not to mention the subject of divorces and breakups being thrown at my face every time I turn on the television or glance at social media, which could also be a driving factor as to why love and commitment seem to be diminishing before my very eyes. Celebrity separations seemed to be at an all-time high this summer, some of them being the most well known couples in the industry.
Miranda & Blake
Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton repeatedly tried to sell that their marriage was wonderful right up until their divorce in July, insisting that the tabloids had it all wrong and that they couldn’t be happier. Apparently it was all just a front put up to keep the spotlight off of their trying times.
"Bennifer"
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, whose split occurred toward the end of Affleck filming “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”. The movie reportedly went very well, unlike Affleck’s marriage, which allegedly ended due to the inappropriate relationship with his children’s nanny. Affleck insists that his former employee made up these allegations in order to get her 15 minutes in the spot light, but pictures of them together just keep surfacing leading the public to believe it is all true.
Zayne & Perry
Zayne Malik and Perry Edwards were engaged to be married up until their split this summer. They broke off the engagement soon after Zayne cut ties with One Direction; causing young girls everywhere to dissolve into a puddle of tears and heartbreak.
Sean & Charlize
Sean Penn and Charlize Theron ended their relationship in June. Most people who heard about the separation, myself included, were surprised to hear the two had split; Penn having referred to Theron as “the love of his life” and talked about marrying her only a month previous to the couple’s demise.
Kermit & Piggy
This was the moment I knew love had truly died this summer. Last month, Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy released that they had ended their romantic relationship and were no longer each others soul mates. If this star couple we all grew up with can’t make it, then who can?
Even as I write this, my sister is informing me that Avril Lavigne and Chad Kroeger have just made their divorce official as well, adding onto the pile of dead relationships killed in the summer of 2015. It could be due to the pressures of fame, or, if these celebrities are, as people say, “just like us”, these separations are due to the same reasons as the break ups of the average people surrounding my every day life. Sometimes adultery is the straw that breaks the camel’s back, such as in Ben and Jennifer’s case. Other times it can be due to money problems, which I doubt these A-listers are experiencing, but is the leading cause of divorce in America according to idfa.com. Lastly, there are situations in which couples simply fall out of love with each other, often for the same reasons they fell in love. After a while, the quirks and flaws that a person once found so endearing and lovable about their significant other, become nothing but annoying hindrances they cannot change, frustrating couples into submission and forcing them to call it quits. This is by far, the most depressing and sorrowful way for a relationship to end, and unfortunately, combined with the other leading causes, has allowed the divorce pandemic to run rampant during the summer of 2015. The summer love seemed to in fact die.
